


Wand'ring Ended, Futures Aligned

by Tazzy_Ladynero



Series: Three Parts of a Whole [2]
Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), Vampire Hunter D (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Archive Warning to change, Castlevania to fill out cast, Challenge Response, F/M, Healthy BDSM relationship, M/M, Multi, No Beta, Tags May Change, Time jumping chapters, To Be Continued
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:23:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28532139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tazzy_Ladynero/pseuds/Tazzy_Ladynero
Summary: It is done.The last Noble, the one known as the Sacred Ancestor, has been found and captured by the Vampire Hunter known as D to be brought before the true Sacred Ancestor for judgement centuries after the hunt had begun. With nothing and no one left to hunt, D can retire behind his father's closed borders, forever out of reach of those that would want to destroy the last of the vampire blooded to roam the Frontier.Except the Capital will not be denied. Select agents have managed to infiltrate the land held by the most powerful and feared vampire, determined to steal away the most valuable of all specimens to lock away in a lab and steal every secret they can from the Vampire Hunter D.Even if it means killing those closest to him.
Relationships: D/Charlotte Elbourne/Meier Link
Series: Three Parts of a Whole [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2090217
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a week - seven days - since the unearthly beautiful young man had ridden into Jancus. Those who had seen him had been enthralled by his looks at first, caught by the spell his appearance had cast on them. It wasn’t until the young man stopped his cyberhorse in front of the sheriff’s office and entered the building that people snapped out of their stupor to crowd closer, hoping to get a look at an honest to goodness dhampir! Over the centuries, the vampiric Nobility had fallen to either hunters or simply vanished back into the darkness that spawned them. With them went their Victims and their half-blooded offspring leaving only one that seemed to be content to drift through the Frontier, moving from hunt to hunt.

The Vampire Hunter known as D. The last vampire hunter and the last known dhampir.

Some say he was hunting for someone or something. Others believed he hunted Death to end his unnatural existence. No matter what he hunted, somehow he always seemed to leave an area slightly safer when he finally left.

The dhampir hadn’t stayed more than an hour with the sheriff, and no one knew what they had talked about. When the beautiful hunter emerged, he simply swung back up into the saddle of his cyberhorse before heading to the Daggertooth Mountains, located about half a day outside of town. It was a cluster of jagged peaks that were covered with snow, and more than a few people had simply vanished when they attempted to climb them. It was thought to be better to leave them entirely alone. The people of Jancus shrugged and went about their lives, putting all thoughts of the famed Vampire Hunter out of their minds.

Then, seven days later, almost to the minute, a massive explosion rocked the town, and people ran outside to find the source, weapons in hand. One person noticed the large gray cloud rising from the Daggertooth Mountain and raised the alarm as another explosion rang out. People watched at the tops of a few mountains simply disintegrated. The sheriff had his dep[uties standing watch while the people were urged back to their lives. With reluctance, they did just that, ignorant of the titanic battle that was reaching its desperate conclusion.

***

Gritting his teeth, D jumped from crossbeam to crossbeam, twisting out of the way of the beam that appeared to be made entirely out of shadows. Early in this battle, he had been clipped in the side by a similar beam nearly seven days ago, and the injury was  _ still  _ healing no matter what he nor the Servant did. Plus for every trick he pulled out of his extensive armory, his opponent could either counter it or it barely slowed the being calling themselves the Sacred Ancestor.

It had taken centuries of leads, battles with other vampires - Noble and Victims both - and many false trails, but D had managed to track this one here. D’s orders were to bring this one before the true Sacred Ancestor for judgment, and somehow this imposter knew that, making D’s job even more difficult since he was aiming for incapacitation instead of death.

Now, D was fighting for his very life, and he  _ refused _ to let this one kill him when so many others had tried and failed.

The Imposter’s base was made up of the hollowed out mountain range, and D had managed to seriously injure his opponent when he had overloaded two of the three power reactors, causing the structural integrity of the base to destabilize from the resulting explosions. Unfortunately, D has no chance to relax as the injury only drove the Impostor to a renewed fury.

His foot landed on another crossbeam only for the damaged metal to give way beneath his weight. Biting back the hiss of irritation that wanted to escape, D spread his wings beneath the cover of his black cape and glided out of the way as part of the ceiling decided to follow the damaged mental down. As soon as his foot touched a solid surface again, he folded his wings into his back before he attempted another swipe with his sword. The dhampir hunter felt the blade slide into flesh, and he corkscrewed it back out, hoping to open a would large enough to debilitate his opponent.

There was another bellow of pain and fury, and D managed to dodge the wild swipe of the clawed hand. He felt the breeze from the attack and knew he was starting to slow down. It was something he couldn’t afford, but after seven days of constant fighting, even he was starting to reach his limits.

What D needed to do was injure the Impostor somewhere between C1 and C4 on the spine. That would put them down without killing them. Unfortunately, the problem lay in getting into such a position for a blow like that as he was forced to fall back on the defensive again. The dhampir could feel the exhaustion trying to press on him, but he forced it back as he made and discarded plans while doing his best to stay one step ahead of his foe.

_ Can’t go on much longer, _ the demonic servant that lived in his left hand whispered in his mind. D knew the Servant was on its last legs as well, having been the one to help heal the dhampir while also sharing it’s nearly bottomless well of energy to keep him going.  _ You’re gonna make a mistake and that’ll be it. _

The Servant was right. The longer this battle dragged out, the higher the chance of D making a life-threatening mistake. This so-called Sacred Ancestory would love to tear D limb from limb by now, and the last thing D wanted was to be in that one’s grasp.

Unless D manufactured the mistake. Creating a deliberate opening that would allow him to strike at that specific cluster of vertebrates while his own injury would be less severe. The Impostor was relying on his massive size, speed, reach, and claws instead of any true weapon. D’s sword was just longer than the Impostor’s reach if he held it in one hand back by the pommel which made for horrible control in a fight. Save for a single, desperate thrust.

_ You’re crazy! _ Yelped the Servant, having gotten wind of D’s plan. Perhaps, but it was the only way to take down his opponent before the dhampir ended up killed through exhaustion. There was a mental sigh before the Servant spoke again.  _ Call in the calvary. I’ll keep you alive as long as I can. _

_ Thank you, _ D thought back before he began to subtly manipulate the battle as best as he could. One hand brushed against the large blue pendant that hung around his neck as he activated the emergency beacon that had been installed within his universal key. It was something he had promised to use if in mortal peril or in danger of being captured by the Capital, and this was going to qualify for the former. 

It took a few minutes, but he was able to maneuver things to his favor as he saw the blow coming. He shifted to appear as if he was trying to dodge when the reality was that he was ensuring he took the blow to his abdomen instead of his chest. He gritted his teeth on the scream of pain that came from four very long and sharp claws smoothly sliding past his armor to cut into his body and organs. Without acknowledging the injury at all, D’s right arm thrust out, and he watched with grim satisfaction as his sword sank into the other’s throat. There was the faintest grinding of metal against bone before the Intruder dropped to the floor, a look of stunned horror on his face. D dropped with him, the claws still in his abdomen to help staunch the blood that was slowly leaking from the injuries, and he managed to keep one hand on his sword to ensure it couldn’t be removed to allow the debilitating injury to heal.

He had no idea how long he lay there, keeping a careful vigil over his prisoner while doing his best to ignore his injuries. The exhaustion wasn’t helping his sense of time either, and D wondered if he had dozed off when the sounds of footsteps reached his ears. Was it reinforcements for the Impostor, hoping to curry favor with their master? Were the new arrivals help summoned by D’s emergency beacon, brought by a shuttle that would whisk him home? Or was it the local villagers, driven by fear and curiosity to find him and claim the bounty the Capital had placed on his head as the last known dhampir in the Frontier?

In the last decade, the Capital had sent teams after D, hoping to capture him and bring him to one of their labs for study. D disliked killing humans, but those teams never gave him much of a choice which had led to the nice bounty for him to be brought to them alive. There was no way he was going to let himself be studied and dissected like some insect for the humans’ curiosity.

The dry hiss of scales over stone mixed with curses in both Hindi and German had a smile touch D’s face as relief spread through him. Help for him had arrived. They were following his signal, and he carefully took a breath, wincing slightly from the fresh flare of pain that let him know those nerves were still active despite the numbness that had enveloped him. He managed to recall the various languages of his instructors before settling on the harsh sounding German. “Here! I lay with my prey!”

Perhaps not the most eloquent of phrases, but the dhampir was slowly losing the battle with exhaustion and his injuries. He merely had to make sure the Impostor was thoroughly bound before he could give in to that siren song. The footsteps practically thundered his direction, and D managed to lift his head as Zufell and Raman came scrambling over a pile of rubble. Raman had traded her legs for a serpent’s tail, thus the source of the scales over stone sound, but D knew she was much more agile that way.

Zufell dropped to his knees next to D, concern on his face as he took in the scene. “How long? How bad?”

“Seven straight days,” D murmured, slowly blinking his eyes. He only had to remain conscious a bit longer. “Blew up two of three reactors. Impaled to stop him. Servant keeping me alive.”

There was a bit more swearing in German before Zufell started barking orders, and D could hear people scrambling to obey. His eyes drifted shut as a medical team appeared, racing towards him with a stretcher, and a soft sigh escaped him as he finally let his exhaustion and injuries sweep consciousness away.

He was safe and returning home for good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their injured lover returns home.

Mayerling frowned as he stood behind Charlotte, watching his lady and lover coordinate the rescue and cleanup of D’s latest battleground from the control center in Castle Dracul. When D’s emergency beacon had activated, Mayerling had feared the worst when it came to his dhampir lover. It was only the rapid deployment of the predetermined rescue team that kept him from demanding a place in the suborbital shuttle. As D’s final position put him near the last known location of the so-called Sacred Ancestor, four of the generals accompanied the team, Princess  Chō among them to help with any electronic issues. If this was the false Sacred Ancestor, then she would strip the computers of all information before everything was atomized in a controlled explosion. All the better to keep such technology and information out of human hands.

“D is injured,” Charlotte announced, snapping Mayerling out of his thoughts, and he focused on her and the information flickering across the screens in a chaotic jumble. He was very happy that Charlotte was able to decipher all of that information because he was confused after only a few minutes of looking at the screens. “He was impaled when bringing his target down. Dr. Liao has been informed and is prepping his surgery. The Imposter is barely alive with D’s sword bisecting his spine, paralyzing him.”

Undoubtedly, D took the debilitating injury to bring his prey down as that was the sort of thing he did. At least now, D would be home for good. No one in the castle enjoyed the thought of the capital getting their hands on the dhampir, and Charlotte’s information network had been busy tracking those movements in and around the Capital while Princess Chō had to focus on the prey, which meant it took twice as long to finally finish this hunt.

“Incoming!” snapped Charlotte as her hands flew over the keys, bringing up other holographic screens, and Mayerling growled as he recognized ships from the Capital. “Retrieval team, the Capital has launched airships that are heading your way. Unknown if their objective is the hunter or the prey.”

“Time to arrival?” asked Chō over the channel, sounding as calm and unflappable as always. 

“Clio reports half an hour to an hour max,” Charlotte said after a quick consultation with the computer that helped run Castle Dracul. “Do not forget D’s cyberhorse outside.”

“Hector would have us scrubbing the stables with our tongues if we did that,” huffed Zufell. “Is there any way to slow those bastards down?”

Mayerling hummed, letting the others know that he was there if they were not previously aware of it. “Much of the humans’ current technology is based on what was left behind by Nobles when the humans rebelled. I do not know if they managed to remove the various fail-safes or not.”

It was always something that was a question when a human pulled out something that was based on a Noble’s technology. Sometimes, they simply copied the coding without giving any thought about the fact that a Noble may have a line in there that would allow the Noble in question to simply shut whatever it was down.

“Charlotte, I am linking you in,” Chō announced. “Clean out the servers onto an isolated one at the Castle. I shall see to the ships.”

“Acknowledged, Your Highness,” Charlotte said before her fingers flew across the keyboard. Mayerling remained silent, not wishing to distract her at a crucial moment. The seconds crept by like hours, and Mayerling listened to the updates as the team talked with each other and Charlotte. The medics were silent save for when they announced they had both patients secured and first aid was being administered. A small notice popped up in a window from Dr. Liao that his surgery was standing by for inbound patients which was passed along by Charlotte. Mayerling smiled as he heard the relieved swears from Zufell.

The announcement of the completed download came right before Chō started the countdown that would see only the mountains completely atomized, sparing the nearby village. It was rather generous in Mayerling’s opinion as he wondered if someone there had alerted the Capital to D’s presence in the area, hoping to cash in on the bounty being offered. Well, it didn’t matter as they would be out of the Capital’s reach soon enough.

“The shuttle will be landing momentarily,” Charlotte said, closing the various programs and holographic screens as she stood with a stretch and a heartfelt groan of tight muscles relaxing again. She smiled at Mayerling before slipping her hand through his arm. “We’ll head to Medical and wait for news.”

“Of course, my lady,” Mayerling murmured as he escorted her out of the room and through the halls. Despite her calm appearance, the silver-haired noble could feel her hand trembling against his arm, and that was not helping his own urge to simply race to Medical. He was not very patient when someone he cared for was hurt and that had not improved any over the centuries. Charlotte had often teased him about being a lord and protector, but she had struck the truth of the matter. Before he had been the Senechal of Castle Dracul, he had been the Overlord of the Western Sector and enjoyed an amicable relationship with the humans under his protection. 

Rounding a corner, Charlotte gasped in surprise when they nearly ran into the very large and imposing figure of Vlad Tepes Dracula, King of the Vampires, and the Sacred Ancestor. Instantly, Mayerling bowed deeply as Charlotte dropped into a curtsy. 

“Ah, I was hoping to run into you,” greeted the powerful vampire. “I understand a retrieval team was sent out?”

“Yes, sire,” Charlotte said as she recovered at the Sacred Ancestor gave them permission to rise. “D activated his emergency beacon before incapacitating his prey. From what Zufell reported at the scene, the only way to do so was for D to accept a serious wound in return. The princess has downloaded the entire contents of the prey’s computers onto an isolated server here as the others ensured only the prey was there while securing him for transport.”

“It will be interesting to see the face of the one claiming to be me after so many centuries,” the Sacred Ancestor said, a dark light in his crimson eyes, and Mayerling shivered at the feel of shadows deepening around them, growing with the sense of foreboding that came with such a powerful vampire’s anger. Then it faded as the anger was banked until the Sacred Ancestor could direct it at the one who deserved his temper. “Any other news?”

“The Capital launched a few ships towards their location, but the place will be destroyed before they arrive,” Charlotte said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “It is unknown what their objective was, but they will not find it there.”

“And with the Imposter finally caught, there is no need for any to travel beyond the borders again,” the Sacred Ancestor said, more to himself than anyone in particular. That had been a long term goal of the Sacred Ancestor’s, to gather those of vampiric blood he felt were not as corrupt to live within his borders and remove all of them from the greedy humans’ reach. He shook his head as if shaking away a pesky thought. “Come. Let us head to Medical and see how Dr. Liao is handling his patience.”

The trip to Medica was quick and silent as neither Mayerling nor Charlotte wished to disturb the Sacred Ancestor with idle prattle as he had his own concerns. When they arrived in Medical, Mayerling noticed that everyone who had been part of the retrieval team was being thoroughly checked over in a sealed room by nurses in biohazard gear. Mayerling knew it was more of a precaution than a certainty that they had brought anything back. 

Dr. Liao himself was busy at a holographic keyboard and screen next to the treatment tank where the  _ other _ object of Mayerling’s affections floated in the clear liquid known as bacta. A breathing mask covered the dhampir’s mouth and nose while various IVs ran into both arms that were tied off to the sides of the tank. Mayerling figured those were to keep the lines from tangling more than keeping D bound.

“How is he, doctor?” asked the Sacred Ancestor as the trio stopped before the tank. Mayerling glanced over to find concern in those ruby eyes, and he thought this must be much harder for the Sacred Ancestor than it was for himself and Charlotte. They were only worried about a lover while the Sacred Ancestor was worried about his son and the last link he had with his deceased wife.

“His current condition is serious but slowly improving,” the doctor reported, not looking away from the screen. “There wasn’t a part of him that wasn’t damaged in some way even if it was just bruising, so he will be in the tank for a while. After that, I am going to put him on restricted activities until he fully heals.” Dr. Liao briefly looked at them before returning his attention to the screen. “However, there are two injuries I am going to be watching closely. The abdominal injury damaged his internal organs and nicked his spine, resulting in him currently wearing a back brace to ensure there is no further damage to that area, and the injury on his side. I don’t know how old that particular one is, but it is showing no signs of healing at the moment.”

Meaning it was something that had been used against the dhampir during the fight, and depending on when such an injury happened, D had been fighting for  _ days _ with such an injury. Mayerling was going to do everything he could to ensure their dhampir lover rested and fully recovered without anyone pushing him to do so, including D himself.

“And the Impostor?” Mayerling risked another glance and noticed there was less tension in those broad shoulders, obviously from relief now that the Sacred Ancestor knew his son would recover.

“Paralyzed by a delightful thrust between C3 and C4,” Dr. Liao announced with a large smile. “That one has been given enough treatment to ensure he doesn’t die before my lord is ready to pass judgment on him, but otherwise, he will never walk again. The prince took the abdominal strike to ensure he could cripple his prey in such a way the Impostor would be delivered to you.”

“Dutiful to the end,” sighed the Sacred Ancestor, a fond smile on his face before his tone turned thoughtful. “Do you have any idea who the Impostor is?”

Mayerling looked at the human doctor, curious himself to know the identity of the one who claimed such a title. Dr. Liao opened his mouth to say something before he froze, and a strange look passed over his face. “It is the strangest thing,” he said, a note of confusion in his voice. “I know I saw his face when I was attending to him, but I cannot recall it.”

“How strange,” remarked the Sacred Ancestor. “But of no consequence. I shall see to him myself. Mayerling, please ensure Yasha’s room is freshened up for him as he will undoubtedly wish to spend any of his convalescent time in his own bed instead of in Medical, and I am sure the princess will require you as soon as she has been released from Dr. Liao’s clutches, Lady Charlotte.”

“Of course, majesty,” Charlotte replied with a quick curtsy. “The last of our information networks are also being carefully rolled up as well. We will have a better idea of a time frame for the final arrival of those that are aware.”

The sacred Ancestor nodded before turning to leave the couple standing there, staring at their third. Mayerling couldn’t help but feel a sense of deja vu as he stared at the floating dhampir. It was nearly the same scene that had greeted Mayerling after his own time in Medical back when he and Charlotte had first arrived at Castle Dracul all of those centuries ago as an unexpected guest of the Vampire Hunter D. It had been the start of an unconventional relationship between himself, the prince turned hunter, and his lady that had somehow survived centuries. D had only been able to actually return to Castle Dracul a handful of times, but the Sacred Ancestor had given Charlotte and Mayerling permission to journey to and from Castle Dracul when the information was too vital to use the networks. Those stolen times were often spent in a secure resting house that was both portable and undetectable. 

“Well, we have our instruction, and staring at him won’t make him heal any faster,” said Charlotte after a few minutes, and Mayerling nodded. As much as he wanted to stay here until he could watch his love wake up and know he was alright, they both had duties to attend to. 

With one last look at the motionless dhampir, Mayerling turned to attend those very duties, trying to ignore the concern that something would happen without him there to guard his lover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the story title changed (Bonus Kudos to you if you can figure out where it comes from!)
> 
> The chapters will be jumping in time a bit, but I will make sure to label all of them to give a better idea of when each one takes place. If there is no label, then it is in the "present".


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More questions and not enough answers

Vlad Tepes Dracula, King of the Vampires and the Sacred Ancestor, stood at the observation window and stared into the very secure room where the individual who had claimed the title of “Sacred Ancestor” lay strapped to a bed. There was no concern that the Impostor would manage to escape as Dr. Liao had removed the C3 vertebrate to prevent him from simply rising up and walking off. The nerves were also damaged in such a way that the Imposter would be unable to move anything from his neck down, thus would depend on machines and another person for the rest of his existence, no matter how long or short that was.

Isaak stood next to him, a silent and supportive shadow, and gazed down at the large form that nearly dwarfed the bed the Imposter was strapped to. What drew Vlad’s attention to the figure wasn’t the size but the apparent  _ lack _ of features beyond a large, black beard and eyes. Even that large form had little to no definition to it, resembling an unfinished sculpture more than a living being. 

“Well, this is certainly unexpected,” said Vlad, feeling a bit of frustration at this discovery. It was obvious that the Imposter was some sort of construct, but who had created it, and for what purpose? He would have to go back over the various reports that  Chō submitted and see if there was any pattern or reasoning behind this construct.

“The Imposter is not a Hellforged or of any similar creation,” Isaak said, his hands tucked behind his back as he stared down at the being with an emotionless face. Vlad hummed in agreement as he realized that this one lacked the  _ spark _ of a Hellforged being, and he couldn’t sense the dark magic of a demonic deal.  _ That _ sort of magic he was familiar with due to the deal he had made with the Servant to give his son a bit more of an edge when Yasha was beyond his borders, acting as Vlad’s judge, jury, and executioner of the various vampire blooded. It would be interesting to see what happened with the Servant now that Yasha’s job was done.

“I will speak to Ace,” Vlad said after a few minutes of silence. “Perhaps, he might be able to shed a bit of light on this situation.” The youngest of the Hellforgemasters had the additional talent of being able to find anything or anyone with the right focus. Perhaps a bit of blood from the Imposter would help Ace focus on the question, and plenty had been drawn to test for lineage, abilities, and anything else Vlad could think of to ensure anything he had done to Yasha wasn’t fatal.

Isaak inclined his head. “Shall I set a few of the Hellforged as guards?”

“No,” Vlad said, shaking his head as he turned away from the window. “We still do not know the full scope of its abilities, and I do not wish to give it weapons to use against us.”

The Hellforgemaster didn’t say anything as Vlad left to wander through Medical, claiming a small vial of blood in the process. The powerful vampire had to be careful to not crush the vial and lose the precious resource, no matter how tempted he was to do just that. He needed  _ answers _ which couldn’t come from broken glass and spilled blood. 

“Good, you haven’t left yet.”

Vlad paused next to the tank holding his son, and he turned to watch Dr. Liao cross the room to stand next to him. There was a concerned frown on the older human’s face that made Vlad’s stomach clench in a way it hadn’t in many millennia, not since Yasha first left the safety of the castle.

“Yasha is going to need the cuff for quite a while,” Dr. Liao stated without any hesitation, and that clenching turned into a solid lump. The cuff was something that Vlad had developed when Yasha was first learning to work with the Servant and was having a bit of difficulty keeping his left hand attached to his arm. It worked by essentially trapping his left hand to his arm in a sort of brace while also protecting his wrist where their connection was the weakest. “The connection between his hand and arm has weakened. I am unsure if it has been something that has been happening over time and it only recently reached a level of concern, or if this is another side effect from his battle with the Impostor.”

The King of the Vampires knew the doctor would have mentioned any concerns about such a problem if it had been known about earlier, but it was still troubling information. He didn’t want his son to lose his hand because of complications that arose from the job Vlad had asked him to do. Plus who knew what trouble the Servant would get into if allowed to wander around Castle Dracul on its own.

“I’ll retrieve the cuff and have it sent to you,” Vlad said, trying to remember where he had placed the valuable artifact after Yasha no longer needed it. Maybe in his office safe? “Let me know if there are any changes to his condition.”

“Of course, sire,” Dr. Liao promised as Vlad left Medical, his long strides eating up the distance to the Hellforge that Ace had claimed as his own. He sincerely hoped the young man would be able to shed some light on the mystery that was the Impostor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is for a 365 day challenge, and yes I'm "behind". However, since this is to be 365 "chapters" for this story and challenge, I'm going to be jumping around in time as I go. Don't worry, I'll make sure to mark the chapter at the top as to when in time it is to the best of my ability.
> 
> ALSO!! IMPORTANT!!! Tags may change, but if a new warning is needed, I'll do my best to put that in the beginning chapter notes even as I add it to the tags themselves.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No parent can fully control their child's attitude.

Even though the keyboard she was using was holographic, Charlotte was still comforted by the clicks of her fingers hitting the keys. There was something soothing about the rhythmic sound that helped distract her from the furious pacing that was happening off to one side. She was sure Princess  Chō was getting tired of the pacing as well, but she had not reached the point where she was going to say anything to her son. Hán Xìn had certainly inherited the infamous Dracula temper, and frankly, Charlotte was in no mood to hear what had irritated the young man this time.

“I can’t  _ believe _ that bastard came back!” Hán Xìn snarled, never stopping his pacing, and Charlotte bit back a sigh of frustration as she realized that he wasn’t going to go away until after he had fully vented whatever was bothering him. “How  _ dare _ he after he left you, Mother!”

Princess Chō didn’t look up from her work at sorting through the Impostor’s plundered databanks to acknowledge her son’s behavior. “No one left me in any way, especially not the prince,” she said, her voice bored as she apparently did her best to stop this very old argument before Hán Xìn gained any momentum. “Yes, he donated the genetic material to help in your creation, but that is all he did from the agreement that we had between us. You know this and have been told this very thing time and again. You need to accept the truth and move on.”

Unfortunately, his pig-headed behavior had gotten him dismissed from dinners and Court more than once. Charlotte knew that the princess wasn’t to blame for her son’s attitude as she had tried numerous times since it had developed to correct such behavior. After such corrections, Hán Xìn seemed fine and reasonable, but something would happen and he would backslide again, snarling at everyone and taking offense for the smallest slight.

“You need to stop defending that bastard, Mother, and demand what is yours by right!” snarled Hán Xìn, whirling to face Princess Chō with his fangs bared and his eyes flaring with his temper. “For him to accept his place as your husband and me as his son!”

A snort slipped out of Charlotte before she could stop it, but it was a ridiculous idea. The princess would never be Yasha’s wife for a multitude of reasons, the least being that their personalities would clash horribly, and neither would be happy in such a relationship. The other reason was that Yasha was already in a serious relationship. 

With Charlotte and Mayerling.

It had taken dedication over the years while Yasha was on the road as the Vampire Hunter known as D, but they had made it work for them. There had been a few close calls with the Capital, but neither Mayerling nor Charlotte informed Yasha of such attempts to capture them out of concern that he would only worry more about them when it wasn’t needed.

“You remain silent,  _ human! _ This is a private conversation!”

Charlotte raised a brow at that before she closed down her work station. “My apologies, your highness, but I find myself unable to continue at this time,” she stated, rising to her feet and staring at Hán Xìn with the unimpressed look that she often found herself directing his way these days. “It appears that someone has forgotten his manners once more. I believe the last time, Sharma had enjoyed the lesson that was dispatched on the training field. Shall I send to you, your highness?”

She took some enjoyment in the way that the arrogant young noble flinched at that reminder. The lesson in question has lasted over an hour and mostly involved Sharma kicking Hán Xìn up and down the field until Sharma felt better about his existence. That had only been for sneering at Hellforgemanster Hector who had been more amused by Hán Xìn’s posturing and attitude than insulted. Charlotte was almost curious to know how any of the generals would react to Hán Xìn insulting their prince’s chosen lover.

“No, I believe he will not be needed for now, Lady Charlotte,” said Princess Chō, her voice mild and calm, but Charlotte could hear the faintest of edges to her words that was only there whenever she had to deal with idiots. “We shall continue in the morning when we do not have such a distraction around.”

Dipping briefly into a respectful curtsy, Charlotte turned and left mother and son there, and she decided to see about visiting with Yasha for a while. She knew it was far too soon for Yasha to be awake, but the fact that she would be able to see him would help her tremendously while also allowing her the peace to get ahold of her temper. 

It was impossible to figure out where this obsession at being claimed as Yasha’s son came from. When he had been little, Hán Xìn had been introduced to Yasha on one of the prince’s rare visits and resupply runs from the Frontier, and Yasha had treated him as a fond nephew during that and future visits. Then, one day, Hán Xìn had gotten it into his head that since Yasha helped father him, Yasha and his mother needed to be married, never mind the fact that Princess Chō had a harem of beautiful young men - human and vampiric both - that were always eager to see to her every need. No matter who said what to Hán Xìn, he refused to believe that Yasha was anything but someone who had deserted both his mother and himself and needed to “do his duty” to them both. All of them, excluding the Sacred Ancestor and the Hellforge Masters, had explained to the young vampire the truth between Yasha and the princess’ relationship, yet it was like Hán Xìn was shoving his fingers in his ears and singing at the top of his voice so he wouldn’t hear them.

Charlotte only hoped that when reality suddenly burst that strange fantasy he had built for himself that Hán Xìn would be able to weather it for Princess Chō’s sake.

By the time she reached Medical, Charlotte had calmed down from the fury that had swept through her when Hán Xìn had addressed her as if she was nothing more than an intruder instead of a loyal and welcomed member of the Dracul household. Not even when she first arrived here, unconscious after being attacked by Carmilla, had she been treated with the same disrespect that Hán Xìn had just shown her. She couldn’t  _ imagine  _ what Mayerling or Yasha would do or say to  Hán Xìn if they ever found out how he had treated her. 

A faint grimace crossed her face as she realized they would certainly take offense to the young vampire’s behavior, and she decided to not tell them unless they asked her about it. Besides, she removed herself from the situation without bloodshed, and before any further words could be spoken in anger.

A holographic screen flared to life before her, and Charlotte blinked at the message that appeared there.

_ Please create a timeline of the Imposter’s movements going back to when the first reports mentioned him. _

Well, that was certainly going to be a lot of reports to go through, but it would certainly give her something to do as she lingered in Medical. She signed her acknowledgment of the request before moving over to settle on the bed across from Yasha’s tank. Slipping her shoes off, she got comfortable with her back against the headboard before she smiled and brought her hands up to thin air.

“Clio, we have a request to start a timeline on the Imposter’s movements,” Charlotte said as the holographic keyboard and screen appeared before her once more. “Would you please bring up any intelligence reports that mention the Sacred Ancestor and sort them in chronological order, newest to oldest? Thank you.”

Charlotte was always polite to the computer that ran Castle Dracul. Many might only consider Clio to be a computer program, but Charlotte never forgot that she was everywhere and could help or hinder as requested. Smiling as reports appeared on the screen before quickly shuffling into some semblance of order, Charlotte relaxed on her claimed bed and started doing what she did best.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D gets a message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> During the Hunt.

The black cyberhorse casually walked down the road, the black-cloaked figure seated on its back drawing attention for his unearthly beauty as much as the large sword strapped across his own back. Parents pulled their children away from the road even as their eyes remained fixed on him in a dazed. He remained oblivious to their actions while ignoring their looks, far too used to such mixed attention from the humans he passed in the course of his travels.

A flicker of movement had him pulling his horse to a stop just as a young boy dashed out into the street to stop before the cyberhorse. The boy’s eyes were wide as he clutched a cream-colored envelope in both hands, and the rider stared down at the boy, silent and patient.

“Lady said to give this to the Vampire Hunter D,” the boy stuttered, holding out the envelope with a trembling hand, and the rider who was indeed the infamous vampire hunter reached down to gently remove it from the boy’s hand.

“For your troubles,” D said, dropping a coin in the trembling hand. The boy blinked at the coin before his mouth dropped open at what he was seeing. Quickly closing his fingers over the hundred dala coin, the boy flashed D a grin before racing back the way he came.

_ You’re just a big ole softy, _ chuckled the rough voice in his head that originated from the symbiote in his left hand. D ignored the comment. It was nothing new that the Servant hadn’t taunted him with before, usually after showing a bit of kindness to someone, as he turned his attention to the unexpected message. 

The envelope was made of thick and expensive paper, and when he opened the flap, the faintest scent of rosewater drifted up to tease his nose. Inside the envelope was a slip of paper with three words on it, written in a graceful hand, and a gold ring decorated with a rose on the band.

_ My Lovely Foe _

Tucking the slip of paper back into the envelope before slipping it into his saddlebag, D nudged his cyberhorse forward, using his legs to direct it until he got his hands on the reigns again. The ring was tucked into a pouch at his waist for safekeeping until he reached the one he had been asked to meet. 

_ Think it’s both of them or just her? _ asked the Servant, its voice thoughtful.  _ As nice as it would be to see both of them again, he’s got a more encompassing job than she does and is less likely to be able to get away. _

D didn’t say anything as he nudged his horse into a gallop as soon as he cleared the edge of the town, knowing that there wouldn’t be anyone here to accidentally step into his path. While he was skilled enough to keep from running anyone over, he knew that by the time he came back to this town, the story would have changed to where he had been trying to run over helpless children in the street. There were at least three towns on the Frontier that he had to avoid now because of that happening. Of course, if any of them asked for his help or tried to hire him, he was quite free to charge them through the nose for his irritation.

The trees started about half a mile from the edge of town, and D didn’t slow down as a figure in a dark cloak emerged from between the thick trunks to walk into the road. His eyes flickered over the individual, cataloging everything about them and coming to a decision in the space of three hoof strikes on the road. Holding the reins in one hand, D leaned over and snatched the figure out of the path of his horse, settling her before him in the saddle with his arm around her waist, the scent of her rosewater perfume drifting up to tease his nose.

“You were expected two days earlier,” she said, her voice soft but worried over what had delayed him.

“There was an avalanche that completely blocked the pass,” D explained as the cyberhorse took a left off the road to move between the trees. “I had to find a way around that didn’t involve scaling the mountain into a blizzard.”

She nodded, relaxing in his arms now that she knew it hadn’t been anyone hunting him, and they were silent as they rose through the forest, the cyberhorse delicately picking its way through the underbrush. Such was D’s skill as a rider that there was no evidence of their passage, just as he wished it to be due to not wanting this meeting interrupted at any point.

The blue pendant on his chest flashed in the growing darkness, and the air before them split before sliding apart to reveal a hidden sanctuary that D guided his cyberhorse into. The doors closed behind them, the faint seams vanishing as if they had never been there, securely hiding them away from any who might seek them out either out of curiosity or malice.

Wrapping both arms around her waist, he leaned forward to bury his face in her hair, just holding her and breathing in her scent. It had been far too long since he had last seen Charlotte Elbourne, now Lady Charlotte of Castle Dracul, and even longer since she had been in his arms. Quietly, D allowed a bit of Prince Yakov Mordecai Tepes Dracula to surface from the careful compartment he had packed that part of his personality into for when he was on the hunt.

“We missed you,” Charlotte said, her hands coming down to rest over his where they were wrapped around her waist. “We did bring you new information for your hunt, but the Sacred Ancestor granted us permission to spend a couple of days with you while you heal from whatever injuries you happen to have.”

“It’s been a rough time, sugartits,” announced the Servant, its voice only slightly muffled where it was pressed against her dress. “The Boss won’t admit it, but he’s currently running on determination and spite.”

He growled in warning, but he couldn’t deny that he still ached after his run-in with that last pack of genetically altered dire wyrms that his target had used as guards during the day. They had actually been the  _ last _ line of defense the Noble had, and the previous defenses had slowed him down with various injuries the Servant had helped heal. Injuries he was still feeling.

“Then it is a good thing that we have a warm bed and plenty of medical supplies to help you, my prince,” said a dark voice as Mayerling appeared in the doorway. He walked over and took the reigns of the cyberhorse as if to hold the beast steady, and Charlotte slipped from its back with graceful ease. 

D hesitated a few moments before cautiously sliding from the saddle only to stagger as the world twisted around him. Strong arms caught him before he hit the ground, and he closed his eyes, leaning against his vampiric lover as his exhaustion swamped him. Mayerling shifted his grip and swept D up into his arms before starting from the room. Closing his eyes, D simply gave in and let himself fall into the first restful slumber he had enjoyed in months, the scent of cedar and rosewater following him into his dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay because there will be time jumping, I'm going to be putting notes at the beginning of the chapter for two things: During the Hunt which means it comes after "Face to Face" and then Before the Hunt where things take place before "Face to Face". IF there isn't a tag, it's the "present day' of the story.
> 
> Also, what all would you like to see explored? I'm willing to entertain a one-sentence prompt from anyone who would like to toss them at me to ensure this story reaches 365 chapters.

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a Year Long challenge with the idea to write at least 100 word "chapters" each day. So for the next 365, I'm going to do my best to post a chapter a day. I'm hoping this will help spark my creativity again and let me work on older stories that haven't been abandoned.


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